Snagproof drag



Jan. 1951 O M. THOMPSON 2,533,399

SNAG PROOF DRAG Filed July 18, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet l grwe/wfom MORTON L. THOMPSON W%h ZM XZMW I Jan. 16, 1951 M. THOMPSON SNAG PROOF DRAG 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 18, 1947 v 9. x :ihgx

24L will" .mm

. sunken objects.

Patented Jan- 16, 1 51 UNITED STATES ENT' OFFICE SNAGPROOF DRAG Morton Leslie Thompson, East Moline, Ill.

Application Jilly 18, 19417, Serial No. 761,914

it (Cl. 294-66) 14 Claims.

. which are arranged at various angles, on the theory that by chance one or more of the hooks may become entangled with the clothing on the body or possibly some appendage of the body may be caught by the hook.v Since these hooks must be open toward the direction in which they are being dragged these hooks easilybecome fouled or entangled in any underbrush, logs and other Also the lines to these grapple hooks are attached to an eye at the front of the hooks so that it is very hard to dislodge them when they become caught on sunken objects.

The present invention is a considerable departure from these prior devices and one of its salient features is the provision of a device whichmay be disentangled from sunken objects by reversing the direction of pullon the device.

Acordingly, the primary object of the invention is to provide an improved device for the purposes mentioned which may be readily disentangled from fixed objects.

Another object is to provide a snag-proof drag adapted to be pulled along the bottom of a lake or stream bed from a point above the water for recovering bodies of persons and which drag may be tilted automatically to disengage it from fixed objects by reversing the direction of pull. The device forming the object of this invention is relatively snag-proof in the sense that it is easily and quickly released from the snag by a mere reversal of the direction of pull.

Another important ob eot is to provide a drag of the type characterized which is of simple construction, durable and may be manufactured at low cost from readily available parts.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation showing a portion 'of one of the divergent arms of the frame and. the associated pivotally mounted prongs; v i

Fig. 5 is a top or plan view of the portion of the device shown in Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a end view, partially in section and partially in elevation, of the portion of the device shown in Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 is a detail view of the yoke member and mounting therefor; and

Fig. 8 is a partial detail elevational View of Fig. 3.

In the drawing in which like characters of reference designate like or similar parts throughout the several views, the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 includes a subgent members I and 9. The members are preferably made of metal tubes secured together in a Other and further objects will become apparent I suitable manner such as by welding or brazing to form an open-ended V. The member I is adapted to serve as a skid bar when the device is dragged along the bottom of a body or stream of water.

The member 9 constituting the other side of the v-shaped frame is attached to the skid .bar member 7 in such a way that when the skid bar member I is horizontal as shown in the drawing the member 9 will be inclined upwardly in the direction in which the device is adapted to be dragged through the water to recover the body of a person. To the upper end of the member 9 are fixed depending spaced plates [0 which constitute a hinge to which a depending gate bar, I l is pivo-tally connected by means of agpiniZ. The plates it may be secured to the member 9 in any suitable manner as by means of welding or brazing. When the frame of the drag is disposed in the vertical position as shown in the drawing, the gate bar 4 l is adapted to hang straight downwardly under the action of gravity so that the lower end of the gate bar is disposed just above the front end of the skid bar member I.

The skidbar member! has attached to its front end, as by welding or brazing, a guide prong of parallel prongs l9 are suitably secured to the skid bar member 1 and are inclined upwardly and rearwardly therefrom, each of the; said prongs I9 forming an angle with the skid bar member somewhat larger than the angle be-' prongs IS. The bight of a V-shaped prong member 22 is welded or brazed to the skid bar member I at the junction of the latter with the rear leg of the yoke-like member 2 I. Thetwo legs of the V-shaped prong member 22 .are. inclined up wardly, rearwardly and laterally of the skid bar member 1.

The primary purpose of this V-shaped prong -member 22 is-toengagethe clothingor the appenda'ges'ofthe-b'odyof the-person or other objects being recovered-from the water andto prevent the body or objects from slipping transversely of the plane of thee-drag.

A. plurality of parallel-prongs -23- are welded or .brazed to-the frontside of the-depending gate bar H and are inclined downwardly and forwardly-of the frame of the drag; Theseprongs lie in the plane of the-frame of the drag. The:-

.primary.purposeof these'prongs is to'cooperate' with the prongs I9 on the skid bar member l' for engaging and preventinga body or object from sliding transverselyv of the drag.

One ofthe salient features .of the present in-lr -vention resides in the methodof attaching the .ropeorlinesaby which the dragis pulled through the water. To this .end, thesideframe member aiconstitutes the draw'barfor .the frame and is adapted to receive a device to which-the rope-orlines may be attached. In the form showndnthe drawing, a ring. 25. is adapted to slide up anddown .along the fulllength of themember 9. A rope or line 26 .isiattached .to the ring 25v for thepu-rpose ofrdragging the frameth-rough. the .water. When;

the .drag'is beingpulledfforward, the rope .or .line 26 willbe inclined upwardly and to the right. as shown. because the drag is. usually pulled .from a boat which, of course, is above and in front of the drag since itis intended that the dra slide along on thebottom of the stream or lake.

'In, the operation of the above described embodiment, the dragis usually usedinpairs. being partially suspended by .ropes from the opposite side of a boat. It will be readily understood that sufiicienttension must be maintained on the rope 26 so. that theplane'of the frame ofthe drag will 'be held in a verticalposition with the member I v OnJthebOttom serving as the skid element when the drag is'being pulled forward. When the pulling thrust is applied toward the right in the drawings, the-ring'25 .will slide to the upper forward end of the member 9. Since. the drag will be sliding on the bottomv of thelake or stream, theforward thrust on the drag willtend to tip the forward end of the drag downwardly. In, the event. thedrag. engages a body, the. guide prong ,IJ willtendtoraise the latter up over thejskid bar member 'Atthe same time. the swinging gate bar M will swing rearwardly andpermit the body toenter between the skid bar. member l and the member 9. The weightof thegate bar M will cause it to tend to swing tothe vertical position to hold the bQdyiOlI otherobjectsecurely in In the event that the drag becomes engaged under a fixed object in the water, the drag may be released therefrom by reversing the direction of pull on the rope 26. When the pull on the rope is appliedto the left of the drag as shown in the drawing, the ring will slide to the rear of the member 9 as shown in broken lines in Fig. 2 and the pull on the rope 26 will change the point through which the pulling thrust is applied to the frame of the drag.

This will result in a change in the resultant turning moment acting on the drag so that the rear end of the drag Will be raised regardless of whether or not the frontend of the drag is caught on a fixed object. As a result, the drag will'turn about a point forward of its center so thata downwardforce will be applied to the front end of the drag.

It Willbe noted that the guide prong ll makes a very small angle with the skid bar member 1 so-that whentherear end of the drag is raised and pulled backward the tendency for the rear .end of thewguideprong to become or remain engaged'with afixed objectwill be minimized.

length of member 9. towrope-orline Zfiis secured is mounted on'the A second embodimentof the invention for effectingthe disengaging of the drag from objects inthebody of Water is shown in Fig. 3 to 7, in-

clusive, in which :the. depending gate bar 1! is eliminated. The parts common to both described embodiments of theinvention are designated by the same reference characters as employed in :Figs. .1 and 2. Referring to Fig. 3 showing a perspective-view .of this'embodiment of the invention, theframemembers l and Bare suitably secured together to form the substantially triangular frame 5 in the manner described in the descriptionofthe previous embodiment. Secured at-each end to. the divergentframe membert and spaced therefrom. is adraw bar 3 l, disposed with its. axisparallelto theaxis of the divergent memberfiand extending substantially along the full The ring 25 to which the draw bar'3l and adapted'to slide up and down the .full length. of the draw bar .3! along member 9 so thattensionon. the'tow rope 25 will maintain the .planeofthedrag frame .5 ma vertical position when towed. 7

.A plurality of substantially U-shaped prongs or teeth 33, shown in detail in Figs. 4 to 6, arepivotally secured to the :mutually-adjacent surfaces .of the divergent. members l and '9 to engage and holdthe clothing or the. appendages of the body of the person or other objects entering the opening defined by the members i and 9. These .pro-ngsor teeth 33 areformed preferably of metal rods. shaped to provide substantially parallel arms 3 and 35 extendingperpendicularly to the portion 36 forming the pivotal axis of the prongs, thev arms 34 and :15 having mutually divergent sheared points 31 and 38 formed on the ends thereof. Mounting bars id and t! having semicircular transverse recesses i2 along one surface thereof are suitably secured to the mutually adjacent surfaces of the divergent members I and 9 respectively, as by welding or brazing, with the recesses 42 disposed toward the surface to which the mounting'bar is secured, the recessestZproviding mounting sockets for the portions 36 of the prongs 33 to secure the prongs to the divergent members 1 and J for pivotal movement on mutually parallel transverse axes perpendicular tothev axes-of the respective divergent members El -and9. Positioning plates 53 and 44 having 5 spaced slots G5 and'fdfi therein'adaptedto receive the arms 34 and 35, respectively, of the prong members 33 therethrough are disposed along the mutually adjacent surfaces of the respective members I and 9, to position the prongs 33 pivoted to the respective divergent frame members in respective parallel planes. The adjacent ends of the positioning plates 43, 44 near the junction of the members I and 9 abut against each other with a flange 41 formed at the end of the plate 43 overlapping the end 48 of plate 44, The flange 41 and the end 48 maybe secured together by welding or any other appropriate means.

Near the front end of divergent member 5, a yoke member 50 is provided, comprising lever arms 5|, 52 and cross members 53, 54 connected therebetween. The yoke member 50 is pivotally mounted on the mounting bar 4| by means of a pin 55 extending between the lever arms 5!, 52 and through a suitable opening in the bar 4| to position the upper ends of the lever arms, 5|, 52 in the path of the ring 25 to which the tow line 25 is secured. A cross member 56 is welded across lever arms 5|, 52 and serves as a stop for limiting the pivotal movement of the yoke 51!. The lever arms 5 l, 52 engage the plate 44 and urge the latter axially toward the junction of the divergent members 1 and 9 when the tow ring 25 is abutting the lever arms 5|, 52.

In the operation of the above embodiment'of the invention, when the pulling thrust is applied to the tow line 25, in a direction toward the right of the drawing, the ring 25 will be drawn along the draw bar 3| to the position shown in Fig, 3, engaging the lever arms 5 I, 52 and camming them clockwise about the axis of pin 55] The cross member 55, disposed between the lever arms 5 I, 52 opposite the pivot pin 55, serves as a stop for the yoke member 55 When the top of the latter is moved to the right in Figure 3 and member 56 engages the underside of the positioning plate 44. The lever arms 5| and 52 engage the end of the positioning plate 44 to force the latter toward the junction of the divergent members 1 and 9. By reason of engagement between the end 48 and the flange 41 the positioning plate 43 will also be moved toward the junction of members land 9 and thereby rock the pivoted prongs 33 extending through the slots 45, 45 of the plates 43, 44 respectively, inwardly from the front ends of the members I and 9 to engage and retain objects entering through the opening formed by the members 1 and 9.

In the event the drag becomes engaged under a fixed object in the water, the drag may be released therefrom by reversing the direction of pull on the tow rope 26. When the direction of any fixed underwater obstruction by merely reversing the direction of pull.

Although the invention has been described in considerable detail, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many variations are possible without departing from the inventive concept, except aslimited by the appended claims.

What is claimed is: l

1. A drag for recovering bodies of persons from a body of water, such as a lake, pond, or stream,

comprising a frame including forwardly diverg ing members defining an opening at their divergent front ends, means pivoted to the forward end of one of said members for closing said opening, means carried by the other of said members for engaging and holding a body to be recovered, and means o'perably associated with said frame and movable relative thereto through which a pulling thrust may be applied to said frame at diiierent points."

2. A drag forrecovering bodies of, persons from a body of water such as a lake, pond, or stream, comprising a frame having two divergent members secured together to constitute a V-iormation, a third member pivoted to one end of said members and forming a closure for said V-formation, and means slidable on one of said members to which a rope or the like may be attached for operating the drag.

3. A drag for recovering bodies of persons from a body of water, such as a lake, pond or stream, comprising a frame having two divergent members secured together to constitute a V-formation, a third member pivoted to one end of one of said members and forming a closure for said V-formation, said frame being adapted to be dragged along the bottom of a bodyof water with the plane of saidframe disposed vertically and with one of said members serving a a skid element, and means having a slidable connection with said frame for applying'a pulling thrust to said frame at different points thereof.

4. A drag for recovering bodies of persons from a body of water such as a lake, pond or stream, comprisinga frame including forwardly divergent members defining an opening by their divergent front ends for receiving a body to be recovered,

pull is reversed, the ring 25 will slide to the rear of the member 9 along thedraw bar 3! to a position near the junction of'members 1 and 9, re-

, leasing the yoke member to permit it'to rotate counterclockwise about the pivot pin 55, and permit the positioning plates 43, 44 to move axially toward the respective front ends of the divergent frame members i and 5 and earn the prongs 33 to positions at. right angles to the respective frame members or to forwardly inclined positions to release the snag, at the same time raising the rear end of the drag in a manner similar to that described in the previous modification,

From the above description, it will be readily apparent that the present invention provides a novel device for recovering bodies of persons from lakes, ponds, or streams. Because of the novel means for attaching the tow ropes or lines to the drag, the latter may be readily disengaged from.

said frame adapted to be dragged along the bottom of a body of water with the plane of said frame disposed vertically and with one of said members serving as a skid element, a third member pivoted to the forward end of the other of said members and forming a closure for the di-- vergent open end of said frame, and means operably "associated with said frame and movable relative thereto through which a pulling thrust may be applied to said frame at different points.

5. Adevice as described in claim 6 in which the member serving as a skid element is provided with prongs inclined from the open end of said frame toward the rear thereof and said third member is provided on its front side with parallel prongs inclined downwardly toward the front of said frame. k

6. A device as defined in claim 4 in which the frame member serving as the skid element is provided with parallel prongs inclined upwardly and rearwardly and a yoke-like member in which the plane of the yoke member i substantially parallel to said prongs with the legs of said yokelike member inclined transversely of the plane of said frame.

'7. A drag for recovering bodies of persons from a body of water such as a lake, pond or stream, comprising forwardly-divergent members de- .7 fining :an, opening ."byi'thflil? divergent front ends, said frame being adapted to'be dragged ialon-g aa ;body1of water with the'plane of said frame dis- "posed-vertically and wit-hone of said members serving asa skid'element, athird member pivoted to the-forward end of; said other frame member and formingia closure for said opening, said third member normally hanging vertically under the action of gravity, and means operably associated with'said frame and movable relative thereto" through which a pulling thrust may ,beapplied to said frame at different points to alter the :effect of the thrust on the resultant turning momentacting on said frame as a result of the pull- :ihgv thrust.

8.- A drag for recovering bodies of persons from abody of water such as a lake, pond or stream, :compri-sing a frame having-an openend for receiving a body or object to be recoveredrneans operatively associated with said frame and mova'ble relative thereto through which a pulling thrust may be applied to said frame at different points to alter the effect of the thrust onthe resulting turning moment actingon said frame, -means carried by said frame for engaging and holding a bod to be recovered, and means actu- :ated by the means applying thepulling thrust to .saidframe for alteration permitting the position of said engaging and holding means to render the same ineffective for holding bodies when the direction of said pulling thrust is altered.

9.,A drag for recovering bodies of persons from a body of water such as a lake, pond or stream, comprising a frame including forwardly diverg- :il'lg members defining an opening at their divergent front ends for receiving a body to be recovered, means operatively associated with said frame and movable relative thereto through which a pulling thrust may be app-lied to said frame at different points to alter the effect of the.

thrust on the turning moment acting on said frame, means carried by the forwardly diverging members for engaging and'holding the body to be recovered, and means actuated by the means applying the pulling thrust to said frame for altering the position of said engaging and holding means to render the same ineffective for engaging and holding bodies when the direction of said pulling thrust is altered.

10. A drag for recovering bodies of persons from a body of water such as a lake, pond or stream, comprising a frame having two divergent members secured together to constitute a Veformation, said frame being adapted to be dragged along the bottom of a body of water with the planeof said frame disposed vertically and with one of said members operative as a skid element, means having a slidable connection with said frame for applying apulling thrust to said frame at different points thereof, means carried by the mutually adjacent surfaces of said divergent members for engaging and holding-a body entering said V-formation and means actuated by the means applying the pulling thrust to said frame for permitting the alteration of the position ofsaid engaging and holding means relative to said frame to render the same ineffective to engage and hold bodieswhen the direction of the pulling thrust is substantially reversed. V

11. A drag for recovering bodies of persons from a body of water such as a lake, pondor stream, comprising a frame having forwardly divergent members defining an opening by their divergent front ends for receiving a, body to be uncovered, said divergent members being orient- "ed to render the plane of said frame disposed :vertical-ly with one of said members servingas a 'skid element when a pulling thrust is applied vto the other of said membersto dragthe frame along the bottom of a body of water, means having a slidable connection with the upwardly dis- ;posed divergent member for applying the pulling thrustto said-member at different points thereiof, means pivotally secured to the mutually advj-acent-portions ofsaid di'ergent members and inclined rearwardly toward the junction of said divergent members for engaging and holding the body to be recovered, and means-engaging said pivotally secured .means and actuated by the ,meansapplyingthe pulling thrust for permitting rocking or pivotal movement of said pivotally secured means to render'the same ineffective to engage and hold bodies whenthe direction of the pulling-thrust is substantially reversed.

12. Adrag for recovering bodies of persons from a body of 'water suchas a-lake, pond or stream, comprising a frame having forwardly divergent members defining anopeningb-ytheir divergent front ends for'receiving a body to be recoveredsaid divergent members being oriented to render the plane of said frame disposed,

able. on axes parallel to theaxis of its associated divergent member and engaging each of. said prongs, and ,means positioning said interconnectedmeans to incline said prongs rearwardly toward the junction of said divergent members when saidlmeans applying the pullingthrust is at oneendof said slidable connection, said positioning means permitting said interconnecting means toinclinesaidprongs forwardly from the junction of said. divergent members when said means applying the pulling thrust is positioned at other than said end of said slidable connection.

.13..A. drag for recovering bodiesof persons from a body of water such as a lake, pond or stream, comprising a frame having forwardly divergent members defining an opening by their divergentfront ends for receiving a body to be recovered, means operatively associated withsaid frame and movable relative thereto through .one direction and permitting the alteration of the positionof said engaging holding means to render the same ineffective for holding bodies when the direction of said pulling thrust is altered.

14. A .drag for recovering bodies of persons from a body of water suchas a lake, ponder vstream,comprising,a framehaving an. open end .75 for receivinga .bodyor object to be .recovere,

means having a slidable connection with said frame for applying the pulling thrust to said frame at different points thereof to alter the effect of the thrust on the resulting turning moment acting on said frame; a plurality of 5 mutually parallel prongs pivoted to said frame, means operable by said slidable connection, means for rocking said prongs to a position inclined rearwardly of said frame when pulling. thrust is applied through said slidable connection in one direction and permitting said prongs to alter their position to render the same inefiective for holding bodies when the direction of said pulling thrust is altered.

MORTON LESLIE THOMPSON.

g5 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,014,538 Alexander Sept. 30, 1913 1,266,650 Zipp May 21, 1918 2,277,545 Gatley Mar. 24, 1942 2,355,136 Behrens Dec. 12, 1944 2,424,040 Long July 15, 1947 

